


The Best Way To Spread Christmas Cheer (Is Singing Loud For All To Hear)

by Honeybeablainers



Series: We Open In New York [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 16:37:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5504984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Honeybeablainers/pseuds/Honeybeablainers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anon prompted: “I’ve got one word for you: sing-a-long!</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Best Way To Spread Christmas Cheer (Is Singing Loud For All To Hear)

**Author's Note:**

> I added this to the Kiss Me, Kate because the prompt lent itself so easily to it. It’s set several years after Kiss Me, Kate. You don’t really have to have read that, just know that Kurt teaches choir and Blaine teachers Band at the same high school in New York.

There’s a lot about life that Blaine is loving right now.

The pre-dawn light pouring in through the front windows of the townhouse is muted by high gray clouds and the tiny snowflakes that are dancing lazily to the ground. The coffee’s almost ready, the smell making his stomach rumble, and he gets to work on breakfast. He’s decided on waffles this morning, with a side of fruit. He plates two waffles, pours two cups of coffee and brings them to the table, sitting down in his favorite chair. It’s got a perfect view of their small back yard, decorated extensively but tastefully for the upcoming holidays. He scrolls through the news on his tablet, sipping carefully at his coffee and enjoying the morning, despite the early hour.

He loves Monday mornings. It’s unusual, yes, but it’s the only day where he doesn’t have to rush to work for a meeting or to finish something up. He can take it easy in the morning, enjoy his coffee and actually taste his breakfast, and get to work right on time, totally stress free. He likes to think of Mondays as a blank slate. He puts whatever may have gone wrong or been disappointing in the last week out of his mind and focuses on the positives. Any number of good things can happen today. Blaine is the only one of that mind in this house.

Speaking of, Kurt comes down the stairs slowly and makes his way though the small living room and into the kitchen, avoiding, out of habit, the stack of cardboard boxes that used to be sitting by the foot of the stairs. The boxes are gone now. Four months of living here and they’ve finally unpacked everything. That’s not saying a lot, though. Just because everything is unpacked doesn’t mean that their belongings have all found a home in Kurt’s detailed interior design plan.

Kurt tiredly flops into his seat across the table from Blaine and looks at him fondly as he sees that his breakfast is ready. Kurt takes several short, quick sips from his mug and tangles his feet with Blaine’s under the table. The ease of the gesture fills Blaine’s heart with warmth. Here he is, living in a gorgeous house in Brooklyn, still working his dream job, and sitting across from the most beautiful man he has ever seen. His husband. Kurt’s ring, slightly thinner than his own to compliment his slender fingers, glints as he takes a bite of his blueberry waffle. Blaine fiddles with his own ring for a moment and smiles to himself because they are married. They are husbands.

Blaine loves his life right now.

He goes back to scrolling through the overnight news as Kurt wakes up with his coffee across from him. He gets up to pour himself another cup and brings the pot back with him to top off Kurt’s. Kurt hums his thanks and kisses the back of his hand. “Thank you for breakfast, Husband,” Kurt says, his voice rough from sleep. It sparks heat in Blaine’s belly and he thinks about how much time they have before they absolutely have to start getting ready.

“You’re welcome, Husband,” whispers Blaine bent close to Kurt’s ear. He can see the way Kurt shivers, how he sits up a little straighter. Blaine kisses a light and teasing line down Kurt’s neck and over the thin cotton of his shirt to his shoulder before he meanders back into the kitchen.

“I know what you’re trying do, and it’s not going to end the way you want,” Kurt calls teasingly after Blaine. Blaine feels a little rush of disappointment. Their newlywed state has led to a lot of... unscheduled activities. It’s just another part of life that Blaine’s been enjoying these past few months. He was hoping that something unscheduled could happen this morning.

“Maybe this afternoon it can end the way I want?” Blaine suggests hopefully as he sits back down at the table. Kurt looks at him over his coffee, his eyes dancing wickedly. It gives Blaine hope and he raises eyebrows in excitement.

Kurt lowers his coffee and his teasing look disappears. “I’m sorry, Blaine. As much as I would love for our afternoon to be delightful,” he grins as Blaine snorts across the table from him, “it’s not going to happen today. We have Rachel’s invited dress tonight, remember?”

“I do now,” Blaine pouts.

Kurt runs a soothing foot along Blaine’s calf. “It’ll be a nice night out on the town. We get to dress up, eat a fancy dinner after... It won’t be all bad.”

“No, your right,” Blaine says reaching across the table and taking Kurt’s hand. “It will be nice to dress up and go out with you.”

Kurt gives his hand a squeeze as he pushes himself up from the table. “How about I clean up, and you can get in the bathroom first?” Blaine nods and heads for the stairs, giving Kurt a kiss as he passes him. It’s slow and deep, and he lingers longer than he should given the conversation they just had, but Blaine can’t help teasing Kurt just a little. Blaine pulls back slowly, enjoying the slightly dazed look on Kurt’s face. With a sultry wink Blaine turns and takes the stairs two at a time. He hears Kurt call after him, “Not gonna happen!”

Blaine smiles through his morning routine, brushing his teeth and gelling down his hair, feeling happy down to his toes. When Kurt joins him in the bathroom to get himself ready, they move around each other seamlessly. Its a dance they’ve perfected over the years. Kurt pays him back for his tease of a kiss by slowly stroking his hand down Blaine’s shirtless back and lightly tracing the waistband of his sleep pants as he passes him on his way to their closet. Chills run down his spine as he watches Kurt walk away in the bathroom mirror. His pajama pants are slung low on his hips and, not for the first time, Blaine mentally curses Rachel Berry.

Twenty minutes later Blaine and Kurt are back downstairs gathering their bags and coats from the closet when Kurt’s phone alerts him to a new e-mail. “Will you check that for me? I want to grab a different scarf.” Kurt heads back up to their bedroom and Blaine unlocks Kurt’s phone. The only reason either of them have passwords on their phones is to keep their nosy friends from going through them and finding something they shouldn’t, a lesson the two of them learned the hard way years ago. Blaine opens Kurt’s e-mail and reads through the most recent. Kurt’s not going to be happy.

His husband quickly descends the stairs, dons his coat and bag, and links his arm with Blaine’s. The weather has long since turned the corner from chilly to bitterly cold and it hits them hard as they step outside. Snow is still falling slowly, adding to the already thick layer on the ground, and Blaine resists the urge to turn around and drag Kurt back inside for a lazy, cozy day in bed.

“Will wants to meet with you after school today,” he says instead handing Kurt back his phone. Kurt groans as he slips his phone into his pocket. “I know, I know. Maybe it won’t be so bad?”

“Yeah right, Blaine,” Kurt laughs sarcastically. He’s quiet for a moment, probably thinking of someway to get out of his meeting with their principal. They walk quickly towards the subway station only a few blocks away, wanting to get out of the freezing air as fast as possible. Kurt sighs deeply, his breath puffing out and disappearing slowly in the cold. “You’re going to have to leave school without me this afternoon.”

Blaine starts to protest, but Kurt kindly interrupts as they carefully navigate the slushy stairs leading underground. “If this meeting goes long, and you know it could, I might have to meet you at the theater. And I’ll need someone to bring me my change of clothes,” Kurt says, his voice raising slightly to be heard over the incoming train.

“Surely it won’t take that long Kurt. I’ll just wait for you.” Blaine says. He steps into the subway car navigating towards the middle where there a two seats empty.

“We can’t risk it. You know what Rachel will be like if we’re late tonight. We’ll never hear the end of it.”

Blaine hears the truth in what Kurt is saying; the wrath of Rachel Berry is second only to the man sitting next to him. Blaine wonders what could be so important to require a Monday meeting. He sends a wish into the universe that Kurt’s meeting won’t take long. They sit quietly on the ride into Manhattan, jostling with the movement of the train and just enjoying being close to each other. Blaine rests his head on Kurt’s shoulder and passes the time imagining how he hopes his evening will go, thinking it will further convince the universe if it sees what it could potentially ruin.

Getting ready to go out will be just like always, a wonderfully practiced routine. He’ll struggle with his bow tie, too distracted by Kurt slipping the buttons into place on his crisp white shirt to focus on the fabric between his own fingers. Kurt will tisk at him and come to help, tucked in so close behind Blaine that he can feel his warmth through both their shirts. Blaine will watch Kurt’s face as his fingers dexterously work the tricky knot, his brow furrowed in concentration and his lips pressed together tight. Blaine can practically feel Kurt’s fingers brushing against his stubble ridden jaw and his breath tickling his ear.

And then Kurt will turn and reach for his suit jacket, and Blaine will take it from him gently. He’ll slip it on with a practiced ease, carefully smoothing the fabric down over the firm muscles of Kurt’s shoulders and trailing his finger tips down his back. His hands will settle on Kurt’s trim waist, squeezing lightly as he brushes barely there kisses along his collar.

The subway comes to a jerking halt and Kurt laces his gloved fingers with Blaine’s and leads him off the train like he does every morning. As they walk the more populated city blocks toward work, Blaine lets his mind wander to later that evening when they’re further downtown and dressed to the nines in their perfectly tailored suits and fine wool coats. The lights of Broadway marquee’s will shine bight against the inky black sky and cast a warm glow on Kurt’s pale skin. His eyes are wide and sparkling with the excitement that only Broadway can bring and he’ll look at Blaine adoringly as he pulls open the theater door. “Always the gentleman,” Kurt will say passing through. Blaine knows that after the show Kurt will beat him to the door on their way out, and Blaine will blush as Kurt’s hand, low on his back, guides him gently out onto the street.

A blast of warm air and the indistinguishable smell of school hits Blaine and pulls him out of his fantasy. They exchange polite ‘good mornings’ to the their coworkers as they pass them in the hall. As they walk by the teacher’s workroom, Blaine tugs Kurt in to check their mailboxes before they make their way to the fine arts hallway. The band room is the first on the hall, the choir room the last, and the orchestra room in between. They pause outside Blaine’s door and Blaine can hear the copy machine in the music library hard at work already, letting him know the assistant director is here.

“Have a great day,” Blaine says softly.

“You too,” Kurt replies. He presses a quick, firm kiss to Blaine’s mouth, and for the second time that morning Blaine wishes they could have just stayed home today. Kurt starts to pull away and Blaine gives the hand still laced with his a squeeze, encouraging him to stay. He feels Kurt smile against his mouth and knows that he’s won himself an extra few seconds.

“I’ll see you at home,” Kurt whispers softly. With another quick peck he turns, leaving Blaine tingling and wishing his hardest for the perfect ending to the start of a perfect Monday morning. 

* * *

The universe was not on Blaine’s side today.

His workday went well. He got good work done today on Vesuvius with his top band. With the difficulty of the pieces he’s picked out for Festival this year he wants to get a head start on as many as he can. He also started sight reading some holiday pieces with them and his second ensemble as well. He’s not that worried about the holiday pieces. There’s only a few new faces in both the bands he conducts, so the majority of his students have played these pieces before. It’s just a matter of learning a couple of new pieces and brushing up the familiar ones and making sure they’re performance ready.

No, work is not what he’s worried about.

Blaine turns down his and Kurt’s bed and tucks his legs under the covers. He wiggles his feet around, searching for a patch of warmth to chase the chill away. Blaine sighs deeply and looks across the room towards the bathroom where Kurt sits, going through his nightly skincare routine. His posture is rigid, his shoulders tense, and his movements deliberate and concise. Blaine has seen the practiced motions relax Kurt after a stressful day a thousand times. Tonight though, it does not seem to be working.

Their evening had been a stressful one. Kurt had barely made it home in time to change. He reminded Blaine of a chicken with his head cut off as he got dressed and ready. Any attempts that Blaine made to help, or slow him down and relax, were met with a wave and an unimpressed glare. Before Blaine knew it, the two of them were back on the train and headed into the city without so much as an ‘I missed you’ or an ‘how was your day?’.

The subway car was crowded, and Blaine had to stand a little ways down from where Kurt was wedged between two middle aged women in suits. The ride was long and uncomfortable, and Kurt didn’t look any happier where he was. When the train finally came to their stop Kurt was quickly by his side. Hands laced tightly together, Blaine and Kurt hurriedly walked from the station to the theater, making it to their seats with only minutes to spare.

Blaine found it hard to focus on the show taking place in front of him, not because of the actors and their performances, but because of the tension rolling off his husband. Kurt’s shoulders were high and his brow slightly furrowed. The Playbill on his lap was being worried to near destruction by fingers that couldn’t be still. Blaine reached over and took Kurt’s hand in his, soothingly running his thumb over Kurt’s soft skin, hoping it would comfort him as it had so many times before. With his hands still, Kurt’s leg started bouncing. Blaine exhaled slowly and only half watched the rest of the show as he tried to figure out what was bothering Kurt.

Backstage Kurt was distracted, eyes frequently flicking to the exit. They praised Rachel quickly, much quicker than usual, which didn’t go unnoticed. When Rachel, in the whirlwind of emotions that follow a show, noticed that something was off with Kurt, Blaine knew things were serious. He could only shrug in response to her questioning look when Kurt’s back was turned a few moments later. Blaine tried stalling them as long as possible backstage so they wouldn’t seem rude, making compliments to as many cast members as he could and trying not to become frustrated at Kurt’s impatient behavior. Despite his best efforts, they had collected their coats and were walking back to the subway station in record time.

The ride home was thankfully less crowded than their way into the city, but Kurt made it clear he didn’t feel like talking when he closed his eyes and leaned his head back to rest on the window. Blaine did his best not to feel hurt by the clear rejection. He had thought that they would finally be able to talk on the empty subway car, and have whatever was bothering Kurt worked out before they got home. By the time they reached their stop, exhaustion had started to work it’s way into Kurt’s demeanor, as well as Blaine’s. Despite walking slower towards home, and his desire to workout what was bothering his husband, Blaine’s own tiredness prevented him from starting a conversation. He was going to need comfier clothes and warmer surroundings if he was going to broach this topic.

So now he’s comfier, reclined against his pillows, and warmer, slightly, his feet still searching for that warm patch he know he won’t find until Kurt comes to bed and he can tuck his feet in beside his husbands. When Kurt does finally switch off the bathroom light and crawl into bed, he pulls the covers up over himself and lays down facing away from Blaine. Blaine sighs and pushes down his own hurt. He knows this situation isn’t about him, and he knows Kurt can be stubborn and distant sometimes, especially when he’s stressed. Blaine reminds himself that Kurt’s behavior isn’t personal. He’s trying to solve his problems on his own. No matter how long they’ve been together, Kurt sometimes forgets that he doesn’t have to.

Blaine shuffles close to Kurt, tucks his toes between Kurt’s warm ankles. He presses a soft, lingering kiss to Kurt’s temple, his cheek, his jaw. Blaine rests his head on Kurt’s pillow and breathes in deep the scents of Kurt’s skin care products. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” Blaine asks quietly, his lips brushing lightly over the nape of Kurt’s neck.

Kurt is quiet, and Blaine thinks that he’s really not going to talk to him, until his body crumples and he exhales a shaky breath. “Will Schuester is the single worst human on the planet.”

Blaine holds back a chuckle. According to Kurt, there are a lot of single worst humans on the planet. The telemarketer that calls every Thursday at ten no matter how many times they ask for him to stop. The barista that works the Friday morning shift who, without fail, messes up Kurt’s coffee order. A woman at the farmers market who took the last butternut squash at their favorite produce vendor last weekend. The list goes on. Blaine is not surprised that Will has worked his way onto the terrible human list.

“I take it your meeting didn’t go well.”

Kurt huffs in frustration and Blaine presses a comforting kiss to the back of his neck. Kurt’s hand finds Blaine’s on his hip and he pulls it up to his chest, holding it there tightly.

“Not at all. I’ve got one word for you: Sing-a-long.” Kurt’s voice cracks slightly, betraying just how upset he is about the latest of Will wild ideas.

“You’re kidding.”

“One hundred percent serious. In addition to the formal chorus concert I am already stressed out over putting together, Will would like a sing-a-long night.” Kurt puts on a voice that sounds eerily like Will. “It would just be so great for the community, you know, Kurt? It would really get everyone in the holiday spirit, don’t you think? Everyone but me, you curly haired asshole.”

“Kurt.”

“I don’t even care right now, Blaine. How he thinks.... A whole separate concert... I don’t even...” Kurt lets go of Blaine’s hand and wipes at his eyes. Blaine scoots back slightly and pushes lightly at Kurt’s chest, urging him to roll over.

Face to face, Kurt’s eyes are blood shot and well on their way to puffy, and yet he still manages to take Blaine’s breath away. He brushes away the fresh tears forming at Kurt’s eyes, as Kurt tries to hide his face in the pillow.

“I know you’re stressed and angry right now, Kurt, and you have every reason to be. But you need to know that everything is going to be okay. You also need to know that you can talk to me. Don’t shut me out. You’ve got me; I’m here. And I am going to do everything that I can to help you out, okay?”

Kurt closes his eyes, ashamed. “I’m sorry. I just get so...” He waves his hand around his head.

“I know you do. But when you get stressed, I get worried. And when you don’t talk to me, it feels like you’re shutting me out on purpose.” Kurt shakes his head, eyes wide with denial, and Blaine presses a soothing hand on his waist. “I know you never would. But we’re a team now, husband,” Kurt smiles shyly and Blaine sees him fiddle with his ring. “Let me help you.”

Kurt breathes a sigh of relief. “I was thinking that I might borrow a few of your students? And we’ll need to make a a rehearsal schedule... and maybe you could....” Kurt rolls over to his back, the wheels in his brain moving quickly, rattling off ideas faster that Blaine can process them. Blaine props himself on his elbow, leans over, and cuts Kurt off with a kiss. Kurt blinks up at him, his face a mix of stunned and mildly offended.

“You can absolutely borrow some of my students. I’ll put a sign up sheet on the board first thing tomorrow morning, and we can meet during lunch about a rehearsal schedule. We can talk about and work out anything else your wonderful, brilliant brain can think of then. But right now it’s getting really late, and we have to be up really soon and I really want to snuggle with you.”

Kurt smiles softly up at him and leans up for a slow kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Now roll over and let me hold you.” Kurt obliges and rolls over on his side and Blaine snuggles in close. He tucks his toes back in between Kurt’s ankles. Kurt hisses at the chilly sensation.

“You love me.” Blaine mumbles into Kurt’s shoulder.

“I do. But not your icy feet.”

Blaine hums and snuggles in closer.


End file.
